First it was Ralph's World, then it was the Imagination Movers. Let's wrap up this look at Disney's current set of YouTube videos from some of their artists by looking at the best video artist of the bunch, They Might Be Giants. The band's got a new CD/DVD set, Here Comes Science, coming out next month. There aren't any videos from the new set up yet, except for the briefest of snippets from new songs and the previously-released video for "Ballad of Davy Crockett (in Outer Space)." So, let's console ourselves with some fine work from the past...
This song is awesome - the "please clean your room" aside slays me every time. (From Here Come The 123s)
They Might Be Giants - "One Everything"
Video: "Farm" / "Can You Do It" - Imagination Movers
So, as I mentioned before, Disney's started posting videos of their musical acts on YouTube, and I'm going to post a few of them here. This time around, it's the Imagination Movers, who've just released a new album, For Those About To Hop. There aren't any videos from that album (yet), but here are a couple of videos from the first season of their Disney TV show, embedded for your (or your kids') instant gratification.
Imagination Movers - "Farm"
(I'm sorry, even after hearing this maybe 50 times or more, the line "The roosters! / The roosters! / The roosters are tired!" puts a smile on my face. I'm a dork.)
Video: "Gotta Be Good" / "Dance Around" - Ralph's World
The fine folks at Disney have decided that if they can't beat 'em, join 'em, which means, yay, YouTube! They've started to post individual videos from their artists on YouTube, and today I'm going to feature them, just because I feel like it.
This one is from Ralph's World's latest album with Disney, The Rhyming Circus, a driving number featuring his band wearing t-shirts spelling out "RALPH." It was either this or a video featuring Ralph Covert in a Sgt. Pepper's-like outfit. I'm guessing Covert didn't have final wardrobe say on these. But I really like this song.
Ralph's World - "Gotta Be Good"
Video: "Bubble" (Live) - Mommie
If that last live video was thrashy, this live video is not. Not every song on Mommie's debut album Mommie's Dearest (review) is about vehicles. On the album, "Bubble" takes a very dreamy cast, but in this live video from the past weekend, it has more of an alt-country sound. I like the rapt look of attention from the boy on lead Mommie (so to speak) Doug MacMillan's left. (I also like how MacMillan steps to the side during a portion of the instrumental break to let the videographer capture the rest of the band). Not every band could keep a crowd during a North Carolina rainstorm...
Mommie - "Bubble" (Live)
Mommie - "Bubble" from Mann's World on Vimeo.
Video: "I Don't Need To Be Worried" (Live) - The Boogers
If you'd asked me a year ago for the hardest rocking band in kids music, I'd probably have given the nod to Detroit's CandyBand. But now, I'm not so sure... the Ramones-inspired Chicago-area band The Boogers have been playing a number of live shows. Take a listen to "I Don't Need To Be Worried" from Road To Rock, played live in Texas, and tell me that it wouldn't get some kids pogoing (and maybe even feel a little more confident).
The Boogers - "I Don't Need To Be Worried" (Live)
Video: "The Patience Bossa" - Perry Farrell & Deborah Harry
One of the cooler tracks from the Tor Hyams-compiled (and recently re-released) A World of Happiness is the Perry Farrell-Deborah Harry duet "The Patience Bossa." As with other kids' songs, the potentially annoying fact that it's a fairly overt message song ("patience = good," natch) is very much ameliorated by the fact that it's a pretty cool song. Farrell and Harry each do a good job with their roles in the song (Farrell, unsurprisingly, is anti-patience 'til the end) and the bossa rocks. The video, directed by Gary Oldman, may have a bit too much Farrell and Harry and not quite enough, you know, kids for the whole family to adore, but it's kinda cool anyway.
Perry Farrell & Deborah Harry - "The Patience Bossa"
